Perplexity MCP Server

Search the web from Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or any MCP client using Perplexity AI —
with fine-grained control over recency, citations, images, and model parameters.

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What This Does

This MCP server connects AI assistants to Perplexity AI's search API. Ask questions in natural language and get grounded, cited answers from the live web — directly inside Claude or any MCP-compatible client.

One tool, full control: perplexity_search_web exposes the complete Perplexity API — recency filtering, model selection, temperature, top_k/top_p, citation/image toggles, and streaming.

Getting Started

1. Get a Perplexity API Key

Sign up at perplexity.ai and generate an API key from your account settings.

2. Install & Configure

Claude Code (Recommended)

claude mcp add perplexity -- npx -y @jschuller/perplexity-mcp

Then set your API key:

export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-your-key-here

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jschuller/perplexity-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "pplx-your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Config location:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

From Source

git clone https://github.com/jschuller/perplexity-mcp.git
cd perplexity-mcp
npm install && npm run build

3. Verify

Ask Claude: "Search the web for the latest developments in quantum computing from the last week"

Tool Reference

perplexity_search_web

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
query	string	(required)	Search query
recency	day | week | month | year	month	Filter results by time period
model	string	sonar	Perplexity model (model cards)
temperature	number	—	Randomness (0 = deterministic, 2 = creative)
max_tokens	integer	—	Maximum tokens to generate
top_k	integer	—	Limit high-probability token pool (0 = disable)
top_p	number	—	Nucleus sampling threshold
frequency_penalty	number	—	Penalize repeated tokens
presence_penalty	number	—	Encourage topic variety
return_citations	boolean	true	Include source citations
return_images	boolean	false	Include relevant images
stream	boolean	false	Stream response incrementally

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY	Yes	—	Your Perplexity API key
PERPLEXITY_MODEL	No	sonar	Default model for all queries

Available Models

• sonar — Standard model (default)
• sonar-pro — Enhanced capabilities
• See full list: Perplexity Model Cards

Security

• API key stays in your local environment — never sent anywhere except the Perplexity API
• The server communicates only with api.perplexity.ai over HTTPS
• No data is stored or logged beyond the API request lifecycle
• See SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting

Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY is required	Set the env var in your MCP client config or shell
400 invalid_request_error	Update to v2.1.0+ (fixes JSON Schema validation with Claude Code)
Server not found	Verify npx @jschuller/perplexity-mcp runs without error
Connection timeout	Check internet connectivity and Perplexity API status

Contributing

Contributions welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT